Arizona’s years-long crusade to lead the nation in school choice policies hit perhaps its greatest roadblock in 2009, when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a limited voucher program violated a constitutional ban on providing state money to private or sectarian schools.

Legislation requiring presidential candidates to submit proof of citizenship before appearing on the Arizona ballot is advancing in the Senate, though it has been stripped of its most controversial provision and has been substantially tweaked since the original version died in committee in February.

Advocates for a more direct action against federal overreach suffered a major setback on Tuesday when the Senate once again rejected a proposal that would have allowed Arizona to nullify a federal law by a simple vote of its Legislature.

For the most powerful man in the Senate, denying American citizenship to children born to undocumented aliens is the next step in the Arizona-led crusade to confront illegal immigration in the country. But a majority of Senate President Russell Pearce’s colleagues don’t see it as a priority, and they may not go along if the so-called birthright citizenship bill is voted on before the Legislature fixes the budget and aids a weak economy.